Euro 2016: Allez les Bleus!

In eager anticipation of Euro 2016 in France, the French Institute’s Ciné Lumière held a series of films and talks. The series was entitled “Art and Football: A Perfect Match?”

 Introducing On the Road with Sócrates at Ciné Lumière 

I attended the first film and talk: On the Road with Sócrates (Sur la route avec Sócrates). During the 2014 World Cup, Dany Cohn-Bendit headed to Brazil. His original plan involved meeting up with his friend, the famous Brazilian football player, Sócrates. Unfortunately, Sócrates died in 2011. Instead Dany toured Brazil in a mobile home painted in his honour (see tweeted photo below). He met up with many people who knew Sócrates.

Dany travelling in Brazil with Sócrates in spirit

Dany discussed the impact of football on Brazil. Two moments stood out in the film. The first was a visit to the indigenous boy who appeared as a mascot on the pitch – unfurling a protest banner unseen by the world’s TV cameras.

The second was the agony on Brazilian faces in a café as their team lost 1-7 to Germany in the semi-final. As an England supporter, I am accustomed to the agony of watching my national team. (Please Euro 2016 spare us penalties). The agony on the faces of Brazilians accustomed to winning in style was one of the film’s most powerful sequences. You could feel every goal go in with every Brazilian wince. No need to see the game on screen at all.

Dany Cohn-Bendit was present during the film. He discussed Sócrates, how the film was made and its special moments afterwards.

Talk with Dany Cohn-Bendit after the film at Institut Français

Underdogs triumph

The UEFA European Championship is an incredible tournament. It has had many great moments in the past. It’s good for football when the underdogs win – as when Denmark won unexpectedly in 1992 or when Greece won in 2004.

I treasure memories of watching Euro 1996 at Wembley. It is great when the home nation qualifies for the later stages. Then the whole nation gets excited – including those not normally interested in football. Flags appear in every window and on every vehicle.

Euro 2016

I’m looking forward to a fantastic tournament in France for Euro 2016. Let’s have a great championship played in the best spirit of the game.

The opening match is France v. Romania on 10^th June. England and Wales play their first matches the day after. Just days away… Allez les bleus!

Video copyright: vladbarza

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Multicultural England and St George

Ordinarily St George’s Day passes in a puff of smoke. Does another nation that let its patron saint’s day pass with as little celebration as England? April 23^rd 2016 was a little more special than usual, but that was down to the Shakespeare 400^th anniversary celebrations, not St George.

My native city of Bristol apparently dropped St George’s Day celebrations altogether because the area is “too multicultural”. London is multicultural too - if anything even more so. Celebrations went ahead in Trafalgar Square.

Has London found the recipe to respect the ethnic and cultural backgrounds of all its citizens? 

 East Londoner Nathalie Coleman, the 2013 TV MasterChef,
cooks her variation on Eton Mess with Rhubarb and Star Anise

I have already blogged about a number of the events in Trafalgar Square in the past year. I wasn’t able to attend every cultural event, but am aware that I missed a number. London celebrated Eid, Diwali, Holi Festival of Colours, Vaisakhi and Chinese New Year.

In December, a Jewish Menorah stood in Trafalgar Square for Hanukah alongside the traditional Christmas tree. The enthusiastic Irish celebrations of St Patrick’s Day feature in a previous blog. I have also written about Brazil and French Bastille Days.

At Easter, I watched a Passion Play in Trafalgar Square. This was the result of months of hard work by enthusiastic volunteers. The story of Jesus is a powerful one, even if you do not share the Christian faith.

Just before Easter my car had to have its MOT. I was mightily relieved when it did not cost me the anticipated “fortune”. As the keys were returned to me, I wished my mechanic a Happy Easter. Noting his Sikh turban, I quickly added the word “break”. I didn’t wish to offend. No offence was seemingly taken as he walked away smiling. It was a Bank Holiday for both of us after all.

Later I looked up Sikh traditions. I noted that Sikhs worship one God, have rejected the caste system, believe in living honestly and working hard. They also believe in being generous to those less fortunate than themselves. Much in common therefore.

My children have learnt all about different cultures and their celebrations at school. At Primary School, they learnt about the Swedish festival of light, Eid, Diwali lamps, the Nativity, Chinese New Year, Hanukah, Buddhism, Easter rabbits, St Nicholas, etc. They enjoyed hearing all the stories related to other faiths and celebrating the festivals important to other children in their classes.

Adopting another culture’s customs is nothing new. At Christmas, I wrote how Christmas trees came to us via Germany - although other countries claim the tradition too. I wrote about Austrian Kipferl and how other nations claim the recipe. I looked at the origins of Easter and discovered many Pagan and Jewish Passover connections.

You don’t need to go too far back in British history to see how religious beliefs tore our nation apart. The wounds of religious wars took generations to heal. 

St George's Day 2016 in Trafalgar Square

Today, England is a tolerant nation. The past shows us that we should absorb rather than drop our own beliefs and celebrations.  Ignorance and fear hamper multicultural integration. Sharing our different cultural traditions and celebrations is an important part of understanding. When we understand better, the beliefs don’t seem so different underneath.

Rugby World Cup 2015

Just days to go until the start of the Rugby World Cup 2015. The excitement is brewing.

British Prime Minister David Cameron diplomatically wished all the home nations good luck in Parliament last week. The opening match is England v Fiji at Twickenham on Friday 18th September. England's Pool A also includes Wales, Australia and Uruguay.

Les Bleus are in Pool D. The French team's opening match will also be at Twickenham on Saturday 19th September against the Italians. They will be playing at a number of different venues - Romania at the Olympic Park, Ireland at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and even in Milton Keynes against Canada in between.

The French team was welcomed to England by Sylvie Bermann, the French Ambassador to the UK. Here is the Twitter post of their meeting:

I know that many of my French Twitter followers are interested in rugby, so I wish les Bleus good luck... until they reach the semi-finals and the possibility of playing England of course. 

Current favourites are reigning World Champions New Zealand. Some suggest that both finalists could come from the Southern Hemisphere - with the All Blacks facing Australia. Expectation will be high for England too as the home nation.

A lot can happen in a tournament spread over 6 weeks. Let's hope that it will be an inspirational World Cup for the game of rugby, whoever wins in the final on 31 October (Hallow'een).


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